VOL.69/2024.04

New Approaches to Education in the Korean Publishing Industry

“It will work out somehow, as we’ve started!”

2023.01.02

The Foundation of the Book Publishing Industry in Korea

There are a great many publishing houses in Korea. The number exceeds 70 thousand or falls to 2 thousand depending on how you approach the term “publishing.” Either way, the number is still quite a lot. The reason for this is that Korea has a very simple procedure for setting up a publishing company. All you have to do is declare your company type as “publishing” when registering it. As of the end of last year, the number of firms that reported their type as “publishing” to the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism was 71,319, including newspaper and magazine publishers. Among them, 2,026 were “general book publishers (paper media publishing).”¹⁾ The number increased to 2,711²⁾ in the report issued in 2019. Also, the Publishing Industry Survey³⁾ announced by the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (KPIPA) in 2020 reports that the number of companies publishing “general books” and “academic/technical books” was 2,699. As you can see, the numbers vary depending on how the data was collected.
So I tried to analyze the results of the KPIPA Publishing Industry Survey based on the reported number of publishers – 2,699. These 2,699 publishers account for 83% of the entire publishing houses (3,246), including books for exams, textbooks, learning supplements, children’s books, home-study materials, and complete collections. A majority of publishers belong here. They are estimated to be hiring 8,922 people, which is 34% of the overall employees in the publishing industry (26,622). Also, their estimated annual sales are 882.82 billion won in sum, which takes up 23% of the entire publishing industry sales (approximately 3.87 trillion won). It means that one employee is raising about 98.95 million won on average every year. It is almost 100 million. In addition, one of the publishers has an average annual sales of about 327 million won, which is slightly above 300 million. As the figures are “average,” it means that there are many companies that fall far below the amount. But, there are more numbers to take into account.

Let’s go further. Sales of 20 large book publishing companies with available financial statements amounted to 410.379 billion won alone.⁴⁾ Take them out from 2,699, and you have 2,679 publishers. So, the rest of the sales, about 472.42 million won, are made by the remaining 2,679 companies. (To give you a comparison, Kakao Entertainment, a web-content platform, records annual sales of 427.03 billion won.) If we exclude large corporates, the average annual sales per firm becomes 176.34 million won. Businesses with less than 5 employees accounted for 71.2% (1,921 out of 2,699), and businesses with one or two employees took up 51% (1,380). (Those with 10 or more accounted for 12.4% (334), and 100 or more accounted for 0.8% (22)). The fact that there are many firms with less than 5 employees implies that they are highly likely to be marginalized in terms of the Labor Act, working in a poor environment regarding wages and work hours. In addition, because they have a tighter budget and inadequate infrastructure, each employee will have a higher workload and pressure from sales. This is the stark reality of the publishing industry in Korea.

All Editors are on the New Book Production Line

All of these conditions impose a more onerous burden on publishers. Because new books account for a significant portion of sales, editors are forced to develop and publish new products. In the Korean publishing industry, the book production process is called “Chaegim Pyunjip (meaning ‘responsible editing’ to translate directly, referring to how important the process is),” and people in charge as “Chaegim Pyunjipja (meaning ‘responsible editor’).” Some companies do not allow people in the team leader position to do “responsible editing,” but there are only a few. Most companies, regardless of their size, appear to release 6, 7, or more new titles every year, involving people regardless of their position. In Korea, the average lifecycle of new titles gets shorter each year. They say that demand for new books declines, especially after 1-2 years of publication. A few years ago, sales in the first three months after publication were 55% of sales in two years and 75% in half a year, but now this period is getting shorter and shorter.
To make matters worse, it is increasingly difficult to hire people with at least six years of experience. Job instability is a deep-seated issue, but there is also an analysis that current workers are turning to web content companies. While there is no official data regarding publishing workers’ age and years of service (due to poor survey response rate, etc.), if we look at the data - “Annual salary in the publishing industry (anonymous survey)”⁵⁾ - released in September 2019, interesting things can be seen relating to seniority. People in the 1st and 2nd years of service represented a large proportion. In addition, the proportion for the 3rd year decreased, again decreasing with the 6th year, and again with the 10th year or higher. In the Korean publishing industry, the phrase “You must prepare to retire at age 40” is not new, but the reality is that you have to think about an exit strategy (including starting a business) after 10 years of publishing experience. The decline in the third year is also significant, but above all, the lack of adaptation to work is probably the main cause. (They say that the decline in the number of the 3rd year is a common phenomenon not only in the publishing industry but also in many industries.)

As sales of new books are crucial to publishers, all editors are essentially assigned to the production line of new books. That’s why companies hire experienced people to fill vacancies. They find it very difficult to hire inexperienced people to educate them right off the bat. So, why do 1st and 2nd years take up a large proportion? This is why social education for beginners is urgent. Given the new book-based work environment, there will be many instances where adequate training of seniors is difficult.

Korean Publishing Education’s New Attempts in 2022

Publishing education programs are diversifying in Korea today. This is an indication that people are more aware of their needs. The most well-known programs for beginners are the Seoul Book Institute and Hankyoreh Publishing & Editing School. The Seoul Book Institute, set up by an organization with the same name established by the Korea Publishers Society in 2005, has been teaching students for 18 years as of 2022, providing a 6-month training curriculum. Also, Hankyoreh Publishing & Editing School, which is about to open its 83rd class, is a 7-week program set up as a part of Hankyoreh Edu by leading professors from the early days of the SBI.
Adding to these two, there have been new attempts in the Korean publishing education field this year. The best examples were “Han Ki-Ho’s Publishing School,” Oolcha Camp’s “Jipijigi Starter Camp,” and “Changbi Editor School.” The first one, “Han Ki-Ho’s Publishing School,” was created by Han Ki-Ho, the head of the Publishing Marketing Research Institute, in July this year. The idea was based on his special lecture titled, “The New Era of ‘Publitors’,” where he suggested “publitors (a combined word of publisher and editor)” as a game changer for the publishing industry, explaining how we should prepare for the publishing industry with increasing demand for creative innovation. This program is currently running its 2nd class.

In September, a 3-month program, “Jipijigi Starter Camp,” where participants can learn the roles of an editor and prepare for the position, was newly opened. This workshop for to-be editors was created by the company named “Oolcha Camp,” which was set up by myself, after working for the SBI for 10 years as a leading professor. We are currently accepting applications for the “2nd Jipijigi Starter Camp.” Furthermore, Changbi Publishing has also started the “Changbi Editor School.” This is a 12-lecture program organized by Changbi School that runs all sorts of lectures. It is currently underway in Seoul following Busan, joined by general participants.
Meanwhile, it seems that other existing programs are doing some makeovers. For example, “Paju Editor School,” planned as a part of an international symposium in 2014 by Paju Book City, transformed to suit the purpose of a “capacity-building program for publishing editors.” It ran an open event in February and November this year, inviting editors as speakers. The Korean Publishers Association also opened 8 special lectures for editors in the fields of Korean literature and liberal arts in June this year through the Publishing Culture Academy for its member firms. In addition, “Platform-P” was established by Mapo-gu, Seoul, and hosts monthly lectures related to publishing. The “Word & Bow Academy” also has short lectures for editors.

* K-Book Trends Vol. 45 – Go to the article about “Platform-P”

Just Going Forward and Doing Our Best Day by Day

These kinds of programs usually target to-be editors or editors with less seniority. However, while there are more various programs to choose from for beginners and the less experienced, companies lack the capacity to hold on to low-skilled newcomers for training. Also, it seems that as editors in demand, the need for basic training has grown. There’s also a rising awareness that the publishing industry should break away from its reputation in the past and seek a new direction, considering the rapid development of IT technology and the drastic change in people’s lifestyles. Of course, the aim of these programs might not be just “education.” It could be a “remark,” “call out,” or “response,” and we don’t know how far it will reach in society. “I’m here like this, but where, and how are you?” “What are the problems we are facing?”
Education cannot be a panacea for all problems, and no matter how many programs are out there, they cannot afford everyone to receive the benefit. But, the good thing is that we’ve made the first step, and everyone will live their way. As there is no fixed answer, we could quickly adjust to the changes and adapt to them. But, there is a more urgent task for the Korean publishing industry. The publishing industry will soon be faced with educational challenges, ranging from leadership education to team leader education, business education, and future education. So, how can we draw a future where people in the publishing industry can grow with the industry together as a member of the publishing society, free from the concern of having to “retire at the age of 40”? Most importantly, would we be able to “make time” for this future?

Written by Yi Ong-Nahn (Head of Oolcha Camp)